CULVER CITY, Calif. —In a notable expansion of the way viewers can watch local PBS stations, the network and Amazon said more than 150 public TV stations and the PBS Kids channel will launch ad-free over the coming months as a Prime Video FAST offering.

A new day is dawning for public television in the streaming era, with PBS and Amazon reaching a deal to bring 150 local stations, PBS Kids and two new FAST channels to Prime Video. As in the longstanding linear broadcast model,

The new additions will unlock a huge amount of PBS content for viewers around the country, and will be free to stream. More and more Americans are using free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) platforms to fill in the corners of their streaming setups.

Public television program distributor PBS has inked a distribution deal with Amazon that will allow users of the streaming platform Prime Video to watch their local PBS member station and PBS Kids. The deal involves around 150 PBS member stations that are already making their main broadcast feed available through the PBS website and apps,